MAC Mle 1950
Manufacture Nationale d'Armes de Châtellerault (MAC) · Pistol · Out Of Production · 1950
Also known as: PA Mle 1950, MAS 50, Pistolet Automatique Modèle 1950
Overview
The MAC Mle 1950 is a French semi-automatic service pistol developed at Manufacture d'armes de Châtellerault as a 9x19mm-chambered evolution of the Mle 1935 family. Adopted in 1950 to replace the underpowered 7.65x20mm Longue pistols, it uses a Browning-type short-recoil tilting-barrel system with two locking lugs and a 9-round single-stack magazine. Production was split between MAC (1956-1963) and MAS (1961-1978). The MAC 50 served as the standard French sidearm through Indochina, Algeria, and into the 1990s, ultimately replaced by the PAMAS-G1 (Beretta 92).
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 860 g (30.3 oz) |
| Weight (loaded) | 1047 g (36.9 oz) |
| Overall Length | 192 mm (7.56") |
| Barrel Length | 112 mm (4.41") |
| Height | 135 mm (5.31") |
| Width | 34 mm (1.34") |
| Action Type | Short Recoil |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Action |
| Magazine Capacity | 9 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Muzzle Velocity | 350 m/s (1148 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 456 J (336 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 50 m (55 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 200 m (219 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Number of Grooves | 4 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Slide Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- 9x19mm Parabellum · primary · 9mm NATO — also known as 9mm Luger, 9mm NATO, 9x19mm
Features
- Firing modes: Semi Automatic
- Feed systems: Detachable Box Magazine
- Safety mechanisms: Slide Mounted Manual Safety, Magazine Disconnect
- Features: Browning Locked Breech, Two Lug Barrel, External Hammer, Single Stack Magazine
Variants
- MAS G1 — Later Mas Production
Service history
Operators
- French Armed Forces · adopted 1950 · as Pistolet Automatique Mle 1950
- French Foreign Legion · adopted 1950
- French National Gendarmerie
- Senegalese Armed Forces
- Ivorian Armed Forces
Conflicts
- First Indochina War (1946-1954)
- Algerian War (1954-1962)
- Suez Crisis (1956)
- Operation Daguet (Gulf War) (1990-1991)
Production
Estimated total produced: 220,000 · Production years: 1953-1978
Split production between MAC (Châtellerault) and MAS (Saint-Étienne)
Origin
Country of origin: France
Discontinued: 1978
Notes
Single-stack magazine was a notable limitation by 1980s standards. Total production estimated around 220,000 across both arsenals.
Background
Although officially replaced by the PAMAS-G1 in the late 1980s, the MAC 50 remained in active issue with French Foreign Legion units and gendarmerie well into the 21st century - some carried in Mali and the Sahel as late as 2010.